1. Filed of the Art
The present invention relates to a method and apparatus for radiation detection that is suitable for use in measuring the level of radiation or monitoring the variation in radiation levels. 2. Description of the Prior Art
The term "electroconductive polymers" as used hereafter includes polythiophene, polypyrrole, polyacetylene, polyparaphenylene, polyparaphenylene sulfide, polyaniline, polyphenylylacetylene, polyphenylenevinylene, and derivatives thereof. These are just a few examples of the electroconductive polymers that can be used in the present invention, and they include any of the highly conjugated polymers, such as those described in "Gosei Kinzoku (Synthetic Metals)", by Shirakawa and Yamabe, Kagaku Dojin. All of the polymers shown in this monograph are insulators in their normal state.
High-molecular weight compounds are in most cases insulators.
Several high-molecular weight compounds are known to be electroconductive. These compounds remain insulators until they are doped with certain gases. Doping gases that are known to be capable of causing an appreciable increase in the conductivities of polymers that are exposed to such gases include I.sub.2, Br.sub.2, AsF.sub.5, SO.sub.3, BF.sub.4, etc.
Doping with these gases may be simply carried out by placing a thin film of the polymer of interest within the gases; if necessary, an electric field may be created by the polymer film and the other electrode placed within a liquid electrolyte. Several proposals have been made for rendering polymers conductive by treatment with doping gases. However, the idea of rendering polymers conductive by treatment with the combination of radiation and doping gases is the creation of the present inventors on their own.